Shelf construction



May-1, 1945. J. E. BALEs SHELF CONSTRUCTION Original Filed March 12,11941 ,sa INVENTOR.

Patented May 1, `1945 SHELF CONSTRUCTION James E. Bales, Aurora, Ill., assignor to Lyon Metal Products, Incor corporation of Illinois porated, Aurora, Ill., a

original application March 12, 1941, serial No. 382,922.- Divlided and this application June 1, 1942, seria1N0.445,264

claims. (C1. al1-153) This invention relates to sheet metal 4shelf constructions.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide a sheet metal shelf adaptedv for Vertically adjustable positioning within a supporting and preferably enclosing cabinet or the like,

wherein the shelf is composed of sheet metal preferably formed from a single blank folded and processed so to provide a rugged, rigid shelf, peculiarly reinforced and provided with a depending peripheral flange which is peculiarly A reinforced and processed, particularly at the corners, so that the shelf is rigidly adjustably supported relative to the cabinet or the like;`

other objects of the inventionwill be apparent from a perusal of the following specification when l taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a storage cabinet, certain of the parts being broken away,

and showing the shelves adjustably disposed fi within the interior of the cabinet;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view ,taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3;

yFigure 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the forward shelf corner; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective View of one of the rearward shelf corners.y

This invention is a division of my pending application, Serial No. 382,922, filed March'12, 1941, entitled Storage cabinets, and the invention herein claimed is confined solely tothe sheet metal shelf construction, per se; claims to the combination of the shelf and the supporting mechanism of the cabinet, whereby the shelf is adjustably supported vertically of the cabinet, are contained in the parent application, Serial No. 382,922, aforesaid. Only so muchof the aforesaid pending application is-disclosed herein as isnecessary to an understanding of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, particularly to FigureV 1, this shows a rather tall cabinet having side walls, a rear wall, a front door, a bottom, and a top portion, not shown. It is to be understood that the invention is equally adaptable to other types of supports which require shelves. In the present instance, the

cabinet shown comprises two pairs of corner. supports which are substantially identical,

Figure 2 shows the front and rear corner sup# ports; the opposite front and rear corner supports not shown are identical. AThe front corner members form, in combination with the sheet 1 metal side, hollow rigid corn'er posts, and the rear corner members form, in combination with the rear sheet metal'wall, hollow rigid corner posts. This cabinet also comprises a single panel for the rear, a single panel for each side or end, an upper panel for the top, a bottom and a top panel member for the front, and a door which when closed forms a complete front, in conjunc tion with the upper and lower panel member's,=for the cabinet'. The shelves, shown in vFigure l within the cabinet, form the subject matter of the present invention. i

Referring now particularly to Figure 3, it will be noted that the storage cabinet provides at 4the `front twospaced apart vertically disposed angle irons 2, only one being shown in detail in Figure 3, which are disposed at the front corner of the cabinet. These rails are formed of a relatively heavy angle iron stock, and preferably of the cross sectional shape shown in Figure 3. The rear corner angle iron rails 6 are likewise shown in Figure 3. These rear angle ironscor cornerstrips may be, if desired, formed of lighter sheet metal, for instance, for purposes of illustration but not by way of limitation, the front corner rails or strips 2 may be formed of 18 gauge strip material while the rear corner rails or strips 6 may be formed of 22 gauge strip,` as compared with the sides and back which may be formed of 24 gauge sheet metal. The doors may be formed of 22 gauge sheet metal ifdesired. i

It will be seen how these front and rear angle irons or strips are combined with the front and back panels to form hollow posts or pedestals for the cabinet in a manner to eliminate unsightly joints, fastening members and structural ends.

Referring again to Figure 3, the rear panel l0 is welded, as at l2 to a shortange I4 which is disposed lparallel to the back or rear panel I 0. The short flange i4 is a part ofI the'rear corner angle iron or strip 6. 'Ihe rear panel I0, from the locus at which it is welded at l2, continues outwardly and isl b ent preferably at right angles to form a ange I6 whichis welded as at I8 to an angularly disposed face 20 of the corner strip 6. .This face 20 of the corner strip 6 extends rearwardly to the rear of the panel l0 and is there to hold these clips as shown in Figure 5 to-receive ends of the panel l0. l The oppositerear corner* construction of the cabinetsis identicalwith that" just described. rlfhe two side panels 26 have Vtheir `respective front ends 3B contaetingly"'overlying the outer face of the front'fcorner-'strips 2, which outer face lies parallel to the sides 26, the same being welded thereto as at,34 From this ,welded zone the side panels 26 are/bent smoothlyover a front lateral flange 36' of each corner strip and vare thus bent in curved conformation .and pass over an angularly disposed ange 40 ofeachof the; respective; front stripsqzvr and are Iwelded thereto as .at 4.4. 'Each of these, side Apanels 26 isthence disposed rearwardly andas shown in the front end of the shelf hereinafter described.

The shelf member per se, which forms the subject matter of the present invention, is preferably formed of sheet metal. In the present ingstanceit is shown as comprising a single sheet or o vstamping of sheet metahformed with-a top portion 65 and 'depending flanges, certain ones of which are formed and constructed to provide re- -inforcedwalls to receive the horizontal portions `of supporting clips, and certain of which depend- I' ying" walV "."DIIQY'Tu lare folded-t0 eliminate rough edges, t0 K Mggeldnes'sland likewise -to reinforce and rigidify the top portion 65 of the shelf. In gen- ;eral,'t h efsheet metal blank from which each shelf .-is made Tis cutiand folded to provide ontwo of the si'desza' depending flange 12 of single thickness.

Figure 3 `the ends are bent around, asat 23-A the flange portionA 22 of. therear. strips i6 andr then '1 .are obliquely-or diagonally bentv around, as at46, the free edge :24- ofgthe spacedapart flange 22 of the rear strip 6, whereby notfonly lockingly to hold the rear end of each side 2,5 in place, but likewise` to cover the freeeedgel@ kvof the rear lcorner strip 1 6., ThusA these rear Ylends, yi6 of each Vof the sides 261are formedas hooks which hook over the` free ends 240i the rear strips-G itbeling .understood that the hookportions 46 extend the 4entire vertical height of thesides '26. The ends f of these portions 46 preferably contact -theouter Awall ofthe rear pane1 land are thus hidden from view. Inasmuch as thesejhoolr .portions 46 vvare preliminarily formed in the sides 266 they comprise preformed hoolgswhioh thus facilitate the assemblyof the sides 'and 'rear vpanel. it `will be vseen that there are :provided 4sn'io th1y flowing,A unbrokenexteriors for the, sides offthe cabinet extending from the inner opposed vertidal walls. of ion around. thef'ront Jof tlfiese,strillls 2 and then `rearwarcll'y, thence in angularly .disposed `,unbroken arrangement", around .the rear corner strips so that insofar -as vthe4 front .postsare concerned there are providedtwo spaced apart` hollow'front posts 'completelyr devoid'ofsharp corners and which,fon` thek'contrar-y, provide rounded tubular posts. v In short, the` fsideswcombine `with the front angleA irons Yto providey front the front strips2 in c urvilinearfashi hollowV D Osts and lthe sidesy combinelwith the `rear panel land the rear angle' irons" to'p'ro'videlleal hollow cornerposts'.I

The rear corner'strips are providedfwitli a series of apertures ,6'4 disposed vin vertically `,s'lfza'ced relation, .which apertures'are adapted'fto' 'receive shelf members. Only two' ,of"the, 'aperturesffd arefshown in Figures 2 and 4, vvvhilefthe''entire vertically disposed rseriesfof'apertures arefshown in Figure l. These aperturesareadapted 'tojreceive the shelf members so that the' lat be placedajvarietyof vertically adjustable 'spaced apart positions.- In-ad'dition,'aslshownfin the drawing-the f-rontstrips "2 are providedjwith `vertically spaced vapertures '166 which rare Aadapted to receive shelf supporting clips llVEacli of .these clips hasA a vertical portionf, Aa horizontal 4portion 69, a main downwardly zinclinedportion 1 D ,aand :a marrow; flower :inwardly proj ectingiend V:11. Theftop portion 68 enters,,anyone-ofthe.

'may

apertures. .65 :whiletlie narrow lower. portion. '-11' v enters the'next lower spaced aperture 66 whereby 'foldedjback upon itself asY at 13 to provide a `double smooth edge. This folded back'portion is then ycarried under and, upwardly :ast at 1li` and then is bent in :parallelgfashion .under the front yand rear edges' 6 5 as at ,15, whereby vthese flange portions 15'reinforce the front and back edges yof thetop65. I

The opposed front and rear corners ofthe shelf are/peculiarly formed whereby the shelves may be vertically adjustably supported within kvertically spaced slots yon ythe rearcorner strips and maybe supportedK on horizontal wall portions-69 `,of the front'clips 61. Inaddition 'these corner portionsare suitably reinforced and rigidified so thatithe flange of the top is sufficiently rugged to support consderablefweight on the shelf top withoutgivirlg way.

To this'e'nd the front anges' `13 Aare cutaway as ,at 16, thecuts being4 formed through" both tliickness'es,- as shown in Figure 6, to provide a double thicknessy supporting' ledge or, double 'edge '11,' the 'two thicknesses of 'thef.metal`being .preferably welded together as at"18, see Figure In addition, the sidewalls Av12 are cut 'away as jat'19 and a sheet metal plate Bil'of the lsame dimensions as'that portion of the side above the cutQaway 19 issuperirnposed thereon and welded thereto as `at 8i to form a reinforced,"rigidified' ywall atthis point, providing a reinforcingdouble" edge`83, see Figure '6, which is 'adapted to' rest upon `vthe edge of slot `lili and' 'the"'edge 11 rests on' the surface I'69 ofl bracket *612' The frontt 'and `rear cornersare identical in construction', hence the'fourcorablysupported into position suchfth'at they Vmay fb readily removed therefrom when desired; The f'r'ontportions -of'e'ach shelf are supportediby the 'clips y61gfof lwhich there vare two atv the front. 'Thus,'.'.each-sh'e1f `will vbe -rmly supported at -its `front corners and also yat :its rear corners.-v '-By cutting 'away the vrear corners-iin fthe --mahner shownin Figure'i''lthere-is provided a `reinforced double' edge `corner 'support 'whichis adapted' to lie within each one of the cut-out slots'afo'f the corner 4strip,"as ,shown in Figure 3, 'as each 'one of vthese Ycorner strips is' 'diagonally disposed with respect to'fthe'rear :panel liland side ,panelsi25- Hence no othersupport is necessary lfor the two rear-corners. Inadditiongby providing the `front 'c,o ine r strips with the Aspaced Aslotsli/ and with the brachetsjk 1adjustabl-y mounted therein, and' yby forming the two front corners of each shelf horizontal flanges, providing smooth inner edges for these flanges and are ,thence folded upwardly in parallelism with the. outer `wall of each depending flange and thence inwardly at the top to reinforce the top at the front and rear marginal edges thereof. With such a construction, so rigidied, it is not necessary to provide the side flanges of eachtop with double portions except at the cutaway corners which are reinforced by the plate-like members 80 welded to the correspondingly shaped c orner portions of the side walls 12, If desired, the side flange walls 12 at the front and for an area corresponding to the width of the plates 80 may be formed of double vertical height and folded back upon themselves in the manner that the front reinforced walls are, and welded thereto and thence cut out along the line 19 to form the double thickness of the side at the front and also at the rear portions of these side walls.

When it is desired to place a shelf in any vertically adjusted position, the shelf is raised, the brackets B1 are placed in the vdesired vertically spaced slot 66 and the shelf is then shifted, the rear corners projecting into the corresponding slots 64 which are located in a common horizontal plane of the frontl edges, lying upon the horizontal portions 69 of the two spaced brackets 67. It is understood, of course, that there may be provided a plurality of shelves, each being supported by the two brackets at thev two front corners and each having its two rear corners supported in corresponding rear slots.v

It is thought that the invention and numerous of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing illustrative description and it is obvious thatl numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the sevefal parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment for the purpose of illustrating the-invention. y

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A shelf construction for a storage cabinet comprisinga sheet of metal having a top of rectangular formation, two of the opposed sides of said top depending therefrom and being folded upon themselves to provide a double flange, the metal of the flange portions at the corners thereof being cut away and the flange normal to and adjoining the end portion of the 'double flange being reinforced to provide a portion of double thickness at the cui; away edge to provide a reinforced shelf supporting edge of double thickness located in a plane above the lowermost plane of said flange, the remaining opposed sides ofthe top being of a single thickness of metal except at the ends adjacent the junction with the first mentioned sides.

2. A shelf construction for a storage cabinet comprising a sheet of metal having a top of rectangular formation, the sides of said top depending therefrom and certain of `said sides being folded-flat upon and in contact with themselves to provide a double flange, the flanged portions A at the corners being cut away to provide angularly disposed double edges at the corners located vabove the adjacent edges of the respective angularly disposed anges, one of said double edges being adapted to support said shelf.

3. A shelf construction ,for a storage cabinet comprising a sheet of metalhaving a top of rectangular formation and integral sides depending from the'top, certain of said sides being folded upon themselves to provide opposed flanges of double thickness, the flanged portions at the four corners being cut away to provide angularly disposed double edges at the kcorners located abovethe adjacent edges of the respective angularly disposed flanges, one of said double edges being adapted to support said shelf.

4. A shelf construction for storage cabinets comprising a sheet of metal having a top of :rectangular formation,v the top having four integral sides depending therefrom to form opposed sides, having extensions projecting inwardly, said extensions having portions folding upon themselves providing reinforced horizontal ilanges and said extensions extending upwardly parallel to the vertical side walls of the flanges and in contact therewith` and thence extending inwardly parallel to and in contact with the top to reinforce the side walls of the flanges and to reinforce the top at its periphery, the portions of such reinforced vertical side walls and said horizontal flanges being cut away adjacent the corners to` provide a double walled edge disposed above the plane of the inwardly extending flange and the` reinforced wall portions immediately above said cut awayedge being welded together for rigidity, and the adjacent angularly disposed side walls of the two opposed side walls being of double thickness welded together' with their bottom edges out away to` provide additional edges lying in the same planes as `the first-mentioned doubleedges.

5. A `shelf construction for a storage cabinet comprising a sheet metal top of rectangular formation having a top and four depending sides providing vertical side flanges, all four corner portions of the flanges having wall portions of double thickness, and by which said top rests for support, said double wall portions being interwelded for rigidity, one of such'wall portions of double thickness lyinginside of one of the vertical I flanges and the adjacent wall portion of double l thickness being kdisposed exteriorly of the adjacent vertical depending wallof the top.

`JAMES E. BALES. 

